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This means that if the same variation in protection from the sun occurs in humans as in mice the effect would be the opposite, giving us more protection during the morning and less in the afternoon.

Dr Aziz Sancar of the University of North Carolina, who led the research, said: "Our research would suggest that restricting sunbathing or visits to the tanning booth to morning hours would reduce the risk of skin cancer in humans."

Dr Kat Arney, of Cancer Research UK, said: "Over the past few years, scientists have been gathering evidence showing that DNA repair is linked to the cell's biological clock, and these new findings in mice support this idea.

"But we don't know whether this research will hold up in humans, and we would still advise people to avoid using sunbeds or getting sunburnt at any time of day to reduce the chances of developing skin cancer."